Earl’s Prime Cuts (Championship Saturday Night)

<h4>With the first big week of tournament action in the rear view mirror, he is a look at some of my Prime Cuts from what as exciting Championship Saturday Night.</h4> <h4>Instant Classic at Willard</h4> <p>The showdown between Greenwood and Kickapoo in the championship game of the Willard Tournament more than lived up to the hype and then some. Greenwood rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 74-72 in front of a packed house at Willard.  The main players in this star-studded affair showed up and showed out on Saturday night.</p> <p>*Five-star guard Animu Mohammed of Greenwood added to his legend by scoring 43 points and spearheading a 14-0 run that wiped out Kickapoo’s 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. His immense talent and athleticism is only surpassed by his will to win and take over games. He was breathtaking again last night. He would not let his team lose.</p> <p>*Missouri State recruit [player_tooltip player_id="824115" first="Isaac" last="Haney"] of Kickapoo was cash money from long distance as he scored a team high 31 points, including six 3-pointers. Several of those shots were from well beyond the line.</p> <p>*Mizzou recruit [player_tooltip player_id="583709" first="Anton" last="Brookshire"] scored 20 points for Kickapoo. He knocked down three early 3-pointers while showcasing his offensive creativity. He is a tremendous shooter off the dribble and with his escape move.</p> <p>-Cam Liggins of Kickapoo knocked down three triples in the first half while [player_tooltip player_id="994435" first="Trevon" last="Brazile"] threw down some resounding dunks for Kickapoo. 6’8 [player_tooltip player_id="994433" first="Victory" last="Naboya"] had a near double-double and [player_tooltip player_id="1070088" first="Kaden" last="Stuckey"] had 10 points for Greenwood </p> <p>-An unsung hero from last night was 6’1 2024 Tanner Jones of Greenwood. With his team clinging to a one-point lead in the closing seconds,  the kid calmly sank two free throws to stretch the lead to three points. On the final possession, he deflected an inbounds lob pass that prevented a potential dunk that would have forced overtime.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Dynamic Duo in Mound City<br /> <br /> </h4> <p>The Class 1 Dynamic Duo of 6’4 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="824183" first="Landon" last="Poppa"] and 6’2 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="984951" first="Tony" last="Osburn"] led Mound City to the championship of its own tournament. Osburn scored 28 points and Poppa had 24 points in a thrilling 63-57 victory over LeBlond in double overtime.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>More Individual Standouts</h4> <p>-Guard Drew McMillin of Republic scored 30 points to lead the Tigers to a 61-53 victory over Parkview in the championship game of the Republic Tournament. The 6’0 2021 guard is an excellent 3-point shooter, but he did most of his damage driving to the basket. He attacked the basket relentlessly and finished well in traffic. It was impressive.</p> <p>-Class of 2022 guard Elijah Whitley of Parkview was just as impressive in leading his team to the championship game at Republic. The athletic 6’0 guard averaged 24 points a game in the tournament. He hit six 3-pointers in the championship game. He also showed his physical strength as he posted up and got buckets in the paint. He is also a plus athlete who threw down a few impressive dunks.</p> <p>-Class of 2022 guard Corde’ Brown had 18 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in the Cavs’ 74-67 victory over Smithton in the championship game of the Tipton Tournament. The 6’0 was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Inside-Outside Duo at Linn</h4> <p>Linn High won the championship of the Eugene Tournament with a 65-45 victory over host Eugene. The duo of 6’4 2021 Caleb Maassen and 5’9 Alek Peters came up big for Linn. Maassen had 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists while Peters had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. </p>